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Ben Rafter had never been the heaviest of sleepers- which was why he almost always jolted out of his dreams when his wife crawled out of bed. He would wait until she returned, kiss her goodnight, roll over and go to sleep.
But, after half an hour without his wife next to him, he began to get worried. Rolling out of bed, he sleepily padded towards the bathroom- where he could see the dim light breaking into the hallway. Knocking on the door, he creaked it open, to find his wife sitting on the edge of the bathtub, looking at her hands. She raised her head as he entered, the expression on her face heartbreaking.
"Mel, what's the matter? Are you sick?"
She shook her head, lowering it again.
"Then what's wrong?" he sat down beside her, taking her hands in his own. "Mel, talk to me".
Even after being together two years, and being married for one, Melissa still felt uncomfortable telling her husband things like this. "I, uh, just got my period".
A blush crept onto Ben's cheeks, but still, he was confused. It really didn't explain why his wife looked like a lost little girl. It had been a regular occurrence since she was a teenager, as much as he disliked knowing. "Uh..."
"I'm almost three weeks late".
He looked at her, still confused. Maybe it was the fact that it was two in the morning- or maybe it was the fact that he genuinely didn't understand.
And then it clicked. His eyes bulged, as he looked at his wife. "Oh my God. You thought you were pregnant?"
"I took a test yesterday. It was positive. I was waiting until I actually got a test done at the hospital to see if I was actually pregnant, before I told you". Melissa took a deep breath, steadying herself. "it doesn't matter, anyway".
Ben wasn't sure what to say. Finally, he stuck with something he thought was safe. "Are you okay?"
Clearly, she wasn't.
"I didn't know how to tell you, Ben. We haven't brought it up since Rachel miscarried. I never thought about it, and you never said anything, and it didn't seem important until I actually realised I was late". Her fingers had reacted differently, when she touched her stomach. They had tingled, something she had never felt before. "It doesn't matter, anyway".
Ben was, quite suddenly, finding it hard to breathe. Melissa's lost expression is gone, and it's replaced by a look of hurt.
"Maybe it's better this way", she whispered, her head falling onto Ben's shoulder. A single tear rolled down her face, which Ben quickly wiped away. She was clearly not alright, and Ben was going to do anything to make her feel better.
"Mel, don't say that", he said gently, wiping away the single tear descending down her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "Listen. One day, we will be the coolest, most awesome parents ever. And we will love our kids more than anything. I love kids! I mean, sure, the one time we babysat Ruby I panicked a LITTLE but kids are awesome! And it's ten times better when the kid's yours".
"You're full of knowledge tonight", Melissa remarked, a small smile creeping onto her face.
"I'm always full of knowledge".
Taking her hand again, he pulled her off the edge of the bathtub, gently urging her in the direction of their bedroom. "Come on. We'll let this one pass, and maybe... well, maybe we can actually plan it".
"Kids are never planned. That's why they're special".